Did you know that if you can’t get into the NYC Half Marathon or full Marathon on the lottery system (which opened on November 8 for the full Marathon), that you can still run by raising money for one of the accredited charities?
I didn’t know. I just found out because I started to research other half marathons. I’m running one in Orlando on January 8, 2011, but I’m getting ambitious to try others. I just applied for the NYC Half Marathon for next March.
The lottery is for everyone. However, they only select a small amount of applicants and the probability of getting in is slim. So, the runner must either run nine races the year preceding the big race or they must run for charity.
I like the charity idea myself. I find that it makes me feel good to give back to people in need, and I decided to look into the different charities that were affiliated with the program. They are:
- Team Hole in the Wall – sends children with serious illnesses to camp
- Inheritance of Hope – raises money for families who have a parent with a terminal illness
- Children of Peru Foundation – for children living in Peru
- Covenant House – provides services for homeless youth
- TeamFox – Parkinson’s disease research
- National MS Society – research and education
- Standing Tall – for children who have problems walking
- Think Pink Rocks – for breast cancer research
- Run for Autism – helps families with children who have autism
- The Leukemia an Lymphoma Society Team in Training – for research and education
- Team Continuum – to help people with cancer and their families who try to eliminate disruptions so that they can focus on health
- A Running Start – for people in East Africa
- American Cancer Society – for research and education
- Fresh Air Fund – to send low income children from inner cities to camp
- Tuesday’s Children – to help families who were impacted by September 11th
- Free Arts NYC – helps homeless and low income children express themselves through the arts
- Multiple Mylema Research Foundation – raises money for research
- World Lung Foundation – raises money for research and education
- DeGregoria Family Foundation for Stomach and Esophageal Cancer Research
- Children’s Tumor Foundation – money for research
- New Heights Youth– for children in inner cities to be leaders
- Livestrong – provides support for people with cancer
The official charity of the NYC Road Runner’s Club is Team for Kids, which raises money to combat childhood obesity, which is a major problem in our country. When I explored this charity a little more, I realized that it also offers assistance to runners from the novice to the seasoned athlete with online coaching and support, VIP perks and events.
Most of the charities I had never heard of, so I decided to go to each and every website to research them. I found that they are all worthy charities of receiving funds. But I was curious about how a non-profit (501c3) gets involved. Digging deeper, I found that any non-profit organization could apply by filling out an application and sending in a check for $225 to cover administrative costs.
Sounds like a win-win for the charities, so why aren’t there more than a dozen or so charities listed?
I am going to have a very hard time picking the charity!
Read more: https://blogcritics.org/sports/article/a-runners-diary-choosing-a-charity/page-2/#ixzz15IQvPES7
Related articles
- A Runner’s Diary: Choosing a Charity for the NYC Half Marathon (blogcritics.org)
- A Runner’s Diary: On Watching the NYC Marathon… (hilarytopper.com)
Hi Hilary, thanks a lot for posting our name (Children of Peru Foundation) on your blog! I think that later on (December/January or so) you will see more charities listed. I think that the charities already listed are the ones who participated in prior editions (that is how it is for us: 2010 was our first participation and we loved it). NYRR asked us if we wanted to do it again in 2011 and we clearly went for it. I also think that they select the charities, i mean all charities do not get in I believe. Not sure how they select the charities, but I am pretty sure they do some selection. So, really, all the charities, as you say, are worthy of receiving funds.
I hope you will have a great Half Marathon! And let me know if you have any questions about us.
Edouard
Edouard, this post also appeared on Blogcritics.org. Thank you for reaching out. I would be interested to talk with you about the Children of Peru. Can you email me information? My email is [email protected]. Best of luck to you, Hilary